LECTURE FASTI MICHAELMAS TERM 2015 Thursday 17th September 7.15 pm Art School Arts Society Andy McKay, Art History Abroad “The shock of the new, the death of the old: An introduction to Modernism from Courbet to Duchamp” A Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, Andy studied Art History at St Andrews University and undertook a PhD from Leiden University in The Netherlands. A former archivist at The British Library in London, Andy is the author of The Angel of Charleston (2013) and for over a decade he has taught Art History in London, Europe and America. This lecture will address everything you need to know about the meaning of Modern and its origins. A gripping and anecdotal introduction to a big topic, the lecture delves into the history, politics, sociology and philosophical movements of the early twentieth century, pitting them against some of the most dynamic images of the age. Friday 18th September 7.15 pm Lecture Theatre, Hodgson Hall Bastille Society Dr Paul Cavill, Pembroke College, Cambridge “Political Life under Henry VIII” Dr Cavill lectures in early modern British history at the University of Cambridge. He specialises in the political and religious history of Tudor England, with a particular interest in the history of parliament. He is the author of a book, The English Parliaments of Henry VII, 1485-1504, and a series of articles exploring the development of laws against heresy from Henry VIII to Mary I. In this lecture, Dr Cavill will explain what it was like to be involved in politics during the reign of one of England’s most volatile rulers. Friday 18th September 7.15 pm Science Lecture Theatre Darwin Society Research evening with OS biologists: Max Emmerich (OS), William Jones (OS) and Nick Zoulias (OS) Three former pupils of the school will talk about the research that they have conducted. Max Emmerich has undertaken medical research projects at every stage of his training. William Jones is currently working on a PhD in ecology and conservation. Nick Zoulias has completed a PhD and is now engaged in post-doctoral research into the molecular biology of plants. Friday 2nd October 7.15 pm Science Lecture Theatre Darwin Society Professor Stefano Mariani, Chair in Conservation Genetics, School of Environment & Life Sciences, University of Salford “Environmental DNA: Biological Dust in the Quest for the Ocean’s Elusive” In every part of the environment surrounding us, there is always some DNA belonging to large organism which results from skin being shed and body fluids being released. These traces of DNA can be probed to investigate which rare and elusive animals had been roaming in there. Professor Mariani’s research team is now using this approach to study marine fish biodiversity, with a special emphasis on sharks: in his talk he will illustrate the fascinating challenge of retrieving and detecting this ‘biological dust’ from the ocean. The journey starts from the simple collection of water and finishes with the identification of hundreds of species, most of which would not be seen/detected via conventional visual and capture methods. Saturday 3rd October 5.30 pm Ashton Theatre Cambridge Society and Darwin Society Professor Marcus Munafo, University of Bristol “Choice and Corporations” Marcus Munafo is Professor of Biological Psychology in the School of Experimental Psychology at the University of Bristol, and Director of the Tobacco and Alcohol Research Group. We like to think of ourselves as free agents making informed decisions as to what we drink and eat, but in fact our behaviour is often shaped by unconscious influences. The tobacco, alcohol and food industries are aware of this, and have engineered the products we buy, and the environments we consume them in, in order to maximise their profits. Marcus Munafo will outline some examples of this, and discuss how this influence extends into the conduct of scientific research. Wednesday 7th October 5.45 pm Ashton Theatre Geographical Association Dr Martin Degg, University of Chester “Tectonic Hazards in the Land of the Inca: Managing earthquake and volcanic risk in southern Peru and Northern Chile” Dr Martin Degg is a physical geographer and geologist with a particular interest in natural hazard assessment and mitigation. His PhD on earthquake hazard and risk in the Middle East was funded by the international reinsurance industry. He has been head of the Department of Geography & International Development at the University of Chester since 2006 and, from 2015, at the new University Centre in Shrewsbury. The countries that lie along the Pacific rim of South America are exposed to some of the highest levels of earthquake, volcanic and tsunami risk in the world, yet tend to be under-represented in A Level texts and course materials. This talk explores distinctive aspects of tectonic hazard and risk in this part of the world, including historical (1530s-) influences of colonial and post colonial 'development' in creating current conditions of vulnerability to hazard. The talk concludes by examining recent success stories in tsunami and earthquake disaster risk management from the region, and shows how pre-colonial indigenous (e.g. Inca) expertise can by harnessed to reduce present-day risk. Friday 9th October 6.45 pm Moser Library Sidney Society Dr Nick Walton, The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust “Shakespeare: ‘Not of an age, but for all time’ ” Dr Nick Walton is Shakespeare Courses Development Manager at The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust. He wrote the introductions for the Penguin editions of Timon of Athens and Love’s Labour’s Lost, and is co-author of The Wallbook of Shakespeare. He has published widely on the subject of Shakespeare in performance, and has worked closely with professional theatre companies in the United Kingdom and in the USA. What do Antony and Cleopatra, King Lear, Othello, and The Tempest have in common? Together, we will explore Shakespeare’s poetry and stagecraft, and look at ways in which the dramatist shaped his writing for theatrical performance. Wednesday 14th October 7.15 pm Science Lecture Theatre Darwin Society Professor Barbara Shollock, University of Warwick “Engineering materials for high temperature applications” Professor Barbara Shollock has been developing new materials for withstanding very high temperatures in jet engines at the International Digital Laboratory, University of Warwick. She was also a Senior Lecturer at Imperial College, London for many years and has had responsibility for Student Admissions. Wednesday 4th November 5.45 pm Ashton Theatre Geographical Association Dr Mark Rutter, Harper Adams University “Biodiversity in the Galapagos” Dr Mark Rutter is a Reader in Applied Animal Behaviour at Harper Adams University. His current research is focused on how an understanding of the natural behaviour of domestic cattle can help improve their production efficiency as well as their welfare. This includes an interest in domestication and the evolutionary basis of behaviour, and he teaches a first-year undergraduate module at Harper Adams on evolutionary biology. This module features Charles Darwin and the Galapagos, and his interest in evolution led Dr Rutter to visit the Galapagos in 2011 and 2012. In his talk, he explains how the volcanic origins of the remote Galapagos, along with the several ocean currents that converge there, have shaped the evolution of animal species on the archipelago, giving us an insight into Darwinian natural selection. Thursday 5th November 7.30 pm Ashton Theatre Major General Richard Nugee, Assistant Chief of Defence Staff People and Defence Services Secretary "Is fighting Islamic State a discretionary intervention?" Major General Richard Nugee was commissioned into the Royal Artillery in 1986. He served with a number of Gunner Regiments between 1986 and 2005, deploying to Northern Ireland, Bosnia and Kosovo, Iraq in 2003 as a Ground Holding Battle Group Commander and then Cyprus with the UN. In 2006 he deployed as a Brigadier to Afghanistan where his role included responsibility for the drawdown of all ISAF coalition forces in Afghanistan. Apart from operations he has concentrated on personnel policy, and has taught at the Joint Services Command and Staff College. In this lecture Major General Nugee will draw on his own experience to assess a key question currently facing politicians. Friday 6th November 7.15 pm Lecture Theatre, Hodgson Hall Bastille Society Professor John Watts, Corpus Christi College, Oxford “What was really going on in the Wars of the Roses” Professor Watts is the author of several studies of late medieval politics, including a seminal study of the reign of Henry VI. He is currently working on a book for the New Oxford History of England series, provisionally entitled 'Renaissance England, 1461-1547'. In this lecture, Professor Watts will unpick for us the complex events of the Wars of the Roses, the bloody civil wars which convulsed England in the fifteenth century. Friday 13th November 7.15 pm Science Lecture Theatre Darwin Society Mr Steve Adams "Challenging Reality – Einstein versus Bohr" Albert Einstein believed in the existence of an external reality that is independent of whether or not we choose to observe it. Niels Bohr thought that the only way to interpret quantum theory was to abandon this naïve view of reality. This disagreement led to a deep philosophical argument about the nature of reality that lasted years and remains unresolved a century later. It also inspired some very strange experiments. If you are not shocked by quantum theory then you have not understood it. Friday 27th November 7.15 pm Science Lecture Theatre Darwin Society Mr Rhodri Burke “The Science of Scuba-Diving” In this talk Rhodri Burke will give a brief introduction to some of the science behind scuba diving; providing air at various depths, biological effects of pressure – nitrogen narcosis and microbubbles, the blue hole and deeper diving.